1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a popcorn vending machine, and specifically, to a currency-actuated popcorn vending machine which cooks raw kernels of corn which are stored in the machine. The corn is dispensed in pre-measured quantities in response to a coin or paper money-actuated vending mechanism. The vending machine also allows for uniform distribution of a cheese or other flavored topping to be optionally administered.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Popcorn vending machines are known in the prior art. Originally, machines were utilized that dispensed already popped corn that was typically heated by lamps in pre-measured amounts into bags or other typical containers. Recently, vending machines have been displayed that allow for various types of cooking of the popcorn at the time the materials are vended and actuated by the vending machine. U.S. Pat. No. 4,947,740, issued to Strawser et al., discloses an individual serving popcorn machine operable on demand. U.S. Pat. No. 3,882,255, issued to Gorham, Jr. et al., discloses a method for preparing popcorn containing no cooking oil residue and flavored with one or more selected flavorings. U.S. Pat. No. 4,727,798, issued to Nakamura, discloses a popcorn processing machine which is capable of heating and popping raw corn rapidly, without addition of oil. U.S. Pat. No. 5,035,173, issued to Stein et al., discloses an apparatus for the automatic continuous popping of popcorn in large quantity. One of the drawbacks of conventional popcorn vending machines is that the raw corn sitting in the vending machine awaiting cooking can become dried out. This results in stale corn being utilized, diminishing from its flavor and further resulting in unpopped kernels. Another drawback in present day vending machines is that it is often desirable to provide additional flavors on the freshly popped popcorn which heretofore have not been available at the vending site.
The present invention overcomes these problems by providing a relatively simple, but very efficient popcorn vending machine which keeps the raw corn in a fresh state at all times so that at the moment of cooking, the popcorn is fresh, with the raw corn retaining its moisture as necessary in a sealed storage unit. Another improvement provided by the present invention is that it provides for uniform distribution of additional flavored toppings such as liquid cheese to be applied directly to the freshly popped corn at each vending cycle at the user's option.
Finally, another advantage of the present invention is that it is easy to operate in terms of restocking the flavored toppings, restocking the raw corn, and retrieving the monies obtained from the machine.
Several U.S. patents show a variety of types of vending machines and vending popcorn machines, none of which teach Applicant's invention.